Lagos woman demands answers over missing husband

A Lagos woman, Nnenna John-Anozie, is asking for justice for her husband, Chukwuemeka John-Anozie, who she claims was arrested by officers from the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Anambra State nine years ago.

John-Anozie accused the Nigeria Police Force of not providing any information about her husband’s whereabouts. She said this has happened despite court orders, investigations, and petitions to various Inspectors-General of Police.

Speaking to PUNCH Metro on Saturday, she shared that five armed SARS officers from Awkuzu, Anambra State, came to their home in Lekki, Lagos State, at about 7:50 am on June 15, 2017. They took her husband away.

She said the officers stopped him while he was taking their children to school. They ordered him to reverse his car before forcing their way into the compound.

According to her, the officers took her husband into their bedroom, searched the apartment, and took a briefcase with money, international passports, educational and professional certificates, the children's birth certificates, and other family documents.

She added that they also seized two sport utility vehicles and several mobile phones from the house.

John-Anozie claimed that one officer warned her that she would never see her husband again and that going to court or hiring a lawyer would not help.

"The audacity behind the officer’s words was deeply unsettling. It is little wonder that nothing has been done by the police for more than nine years; there is no doubt they enjoy strong backing," she said.

She alleged that during one visit to SARS Awkuzu, an officer named Obiozor asked for N5 million before he would discuss her husband’s case with her.

According to her, the officer later walked her to the gate and told the guards not to let her back inside.

She said she was denied access during later visits and has not seen or heard from her husband since that day.

Faced with the police’s failure to give information about her husband or bring him to court, John-Anozie filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit at the High Court of Anambra State.

She said the court ordered on July 24, 2017, for the police to charge her husband if they had a case against him or to release him on bail.

Alternatively, the police were told to produce him in court and explain why they could not charge or release him.

But she said the police did not obey the order and later claimed that her husband had died.

John-Anozie stated that the police did not provide his remains or a clear explanation of his death. This led her to return to court to request that they release his body for an autopsy and burial.

She said the court ruled on April 16, 2018, that the police must release the remains to the family, but she claimed that this order was also ignored.

"Court orders were made, petitions were submitted, investigations were initiated, and yet the fundamental question remained unanswered: What happened to Chukwuemeka John-Anozie?" she said.

The woman mentioned that an investigation by the X-Squad unit at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, after she petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, found two officers as main suspects in her husband’s alleged disappearance.

She added that the legal department at the Force Headquarters prepared legal advice and charges in 2020, approved by the then Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Anthony Ogbizi.

Despite these findings, she claimed that the officers were not charged or prosecuted.

John-Anozie also said that withdrawals were made from her husband’s bank account using his ATM card days after his disappearance until the account was empty.

She mentioned that the family’s vehicles and other belongings were taken and that the investigation file for the case was missing for several years.

The complainant said the file was reportedly sent to the Attorney-General of the Federation in July 2026.

She also wrote to the National Human Rights Commission in October 2020 and appeared before the Abuja EndSARS Judicial Panel of Inquiry between 2020 and 2022.

According to her, the panel often told the police to bring the officers involved in the case, provide information about her husband’s whereabouts, and return property taken from their home.

She alleged that the officers did not show up before the panel, and the panel's orders were not followed before the proceedings ended without any resolution.

In November 2023, John-Anozie said she submitted another petition to the Inspector-General of Police through her lawyers, Falana and Falana Chambers, which led to a directive to reopen the case.

She said the investigation was given to a member of the IGP Monitoring Team but later stopped after requests for important documents and records were not met.

The woman said she later requested the release of the investigation records under the Freedom of Information Act in a letter dated April 8, 2025, but the then IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, allegedly refused to give them.

She then took the case to court, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/865/2025, against the IGP at the Federal High Court in Abuja. She sought certified copies of the investigation records and legal advice regarding her husband's disappearance.

John-Anozie said that Justice Binta Nyako ruled in her favour on September 24, 2025, awarding her N2 million for the violation of her right to information.

She alleged that the police did not obey the judgment until after Egbetokun left office in February 2026, and contempt proceedings were started against the IGP.

During the proceedings on July 24, 2026, her lawyer informed her that the police had filed a notice of compliance stating that the case file and related documents had been sent to the Attorney-General of the Federation.